Help:Tutorial
Oh, hey there, I'm Cata, Catalin Company's official mascot! If you're reading this, chances are you're new to the site, and you might be confused about how we operate. So, I'm here to tell you how you can get started on Shops, "get the ball rolling", so to speak. So, let's get right into it! Starting out So, now that you've and are logged in, you're probably confused about where to go next. My personal suggestion is to go read our site rules. It might sound a bit boring, but it could stop you from getting into trouble in the future! After that, you should head over to the CS Bank and sign up for a free bank account, because you can't buy items from shops unless you have money! We have our very own currency, known as WikiBuck$, although it's usually abbreviated as WB$, that's what you will use to buy most of the items on Shops. However, some stores also have their own special currencies in place, but if so they probably have their own smaller bank as well. After a banker creates your bank account, you will have a free 500 WB$ to start with, which you can use to buy items. Go back to the site's main page, click on a link to a mall, and you can shop away! However, like in the real world, you can't order items if you don't have enough WB$ to pay for them, so spend wisely and watch your balance! Making your own mall/business Now you might be thinking "Ok Cata, I have a bank account with 500 WB$, but how do I keep earning money after it's all gone?" That's a fantastic question! To earn more money here, you can make your very own shops, to sell items and make more money! It has been a trend among users in the past to create entire malls with numerous shops, but you don't have to start that big if you don't want to. Creating a new page To create a mall, shop, or any other page, you can do one of two things. First, you can type the name of the page you want to create in the Search Box, click enter, and if nothing comes up, click on the redlink saying "Create the page !" That will take you to the page, and you can write and "create" it by hitting the submit button. Please remember though, include the proper capitalization, because the site doesn't capitalize words for you. The second way to create your page is by writing out the "redlink" somewhere, such as your userpage, by using wikilinks ( and surrounding the name of an article, or an article you want to create), then saving the edit. Once that's done, just click on the redlink you created and you will be taken to an edit area to create your page! If you can't create a page for some reason using those methods, just ask an administrator, they'd be glad to help! Wikicode If you're new to wikis in general, you have a lot to learn about wikicode. It might look difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy. You should go check out my friends at the Catalin Metro Wiki for more in-depth information about wikicode, or you can ask a skilled user or administrator on their talk page. Creating galleries Now that you have a page set up for your store or mall, it's easy to make an area for your items. Although it does involve some of the wikicode I mentioned earlier, it's really easy, and I'll show you below! That, is a gallery, a place for you to put numerous images, all the same size and in a collective group. Just put the names of your items, a | symbol, then some text, usually your item's names and prices. You can put as little as one or as many items as you want in a gallery. Once you get your item section set up, be sure to have a place for your customers to order items! Items to sell But, even if you create a page and set up your shop... where do you get items to sell? Here are some ideas: *You can sell any existing items you'd like. So, if you want to sell items that aren't there, be sure to request them in the appropriate section! All users are free to sell items as long as they use the files found on that page. *You can create your very own items! A lot of users recolor items on any image-editing software, from GIMP, to Paint.NET, or even MS Paint. If you don't want to recolor items, you can also draw your own items! A majority of items on the site are custom-made; either recolored or drawn from scratch. *You can even ask a mall owner if you can sell their items in your mall or shop. If you ask them on their talk page for permission to sell some of their items, and they say you can, you can then sell other people's items in your mall. However, you must get the creator's written permission first! Bank transactions Another thing to note, it is customary for shop-owners to do the proper bank transactions when their items are purchased. For example, if you bought items from someone's mall, they would complete the bank transactions, taking the proper amount of WB$ from your account and putting it into theirs. However, if people buy things from your mall, it's your responsibility to take the correct amount of WB$ out of their account, and put it into your account. Go check our bank tutorial for more information! Site navigation Shops' default "wiki skin" is called "Wikia", though you can change this in your if you'd like. However, no matter what skin you use, you should always be able to see a bunch of links to other pages, on the top, sides, or bottom of a page. This usually includes links to many helpful pages around Shops, so go take a look and see what you find! Oh, I almost forgot about your userpage! Your is place for you to express yourself, and tell other users more about yourself! You could put things like hobbies you might have in real life, what nation you live in, and more! Conclusion I think I've covered all of the basics! I have to go, but it was great to meet you! Remember, if you ever need help with anything or have any questions, contact an ! It's their job to keep the wiki safe and organized, and help people in need! Have fun on Shops, and good luck! ::::::::::::-''Cata''